Tourist Expectation on UNESCO World Heritage Sites Brand Signals in Malaysian Historical Cities
Salmiah Abdul Hamid1, Qistina Donna Lee Abdullah2, Teo Miaw Lee3
1Salmiah Abdul Hamid, Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, 94300 Sarawak, Malaysia.
2Qistina Donna Lee Abdullah, Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, 94300 Sarawak, Malaysia.
3Teo Miaw Lee, Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, 94300 Sarawak, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 02 June 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 10 June 2019 | Manuscript published on 30 June 2019 | PP: 1525-1528 | Volume-8 Issue-8, June 2019 | Retrieval Number: H6652068819/19©BEIESP
Open Access | Ethics and Policies | Cite | Mendeley | Indexing and Abstracting
© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The UNESCO World Heritage (WH) brand signal uses a recognisable WH symbol which communicates with the public. However, there are limitations which most visitors tend to be unnoticed of the existence of the symbol. The emblem of UNESCO WH is known as the symbol that represents the World Heritage sites under the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Even though one of the primary functions of the symbol is an identifier of properties inscribed in the UNESCO WH list, there is still lack of awareness among visitors to the WH sites especially in Malaysian WH cities. In this article, the authors explore the participatory research method through interviews with the visitors around two WH inscribed historical cities in Malaysia; Melaka city and George Town city. The authors not only draw through the transcripts of interviews among visitors/tourists but also take note of participants’ observations through visual method at the WH cities. The empirical data from the on-site participatory research methods uncover the experiences through the lenses of researchers as well as the tourists. The findings of this research show that the WH brand signal are unnoticeable by the tourists due to the visibility of the WH signal and lack of awareness. This research can be used as a guideline in establishing the ‘UNESCO’ brand in Malaysia.
Keyword: Brand signal, Tourist expectation, UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Scope of the Article: Marketing and Social Sciences.